MIDDLETOWN — Brittany Cash scored twice and Natalie Diaz added a goal and assisted on two others Tuesday as the Middletown Mustangs turned back the Kelseyville Knights 4-1 in a North Central League I North varsity girls” soccer game at Middletown.
It wasn”t the Must-angs” best effort of the season, according to coach Louise Owens, but it was good enough to improve Middletown”s North record to 2-0 and the Mustangs” overall mark to 9-1.
“We looked lethargic,” Owens said. “Kelseyville did a good job of breaking our rhythm.”
Middletown did get off to a great start as Emily Reed scored three minutes into the game. Diaz, who assisted on Reed”s goal, scored three minutes later to push the Mustangs” lead to 2-0.
“You can”t play lackadaisical when you play a good team,” Kelseyville coach Mark Andre said of the Knights” slow start on defesnse.
Cash opened the scoring in the second half, again on a Diaz assist, to make it 3-0. Kelseyville cut it to 3-1 in the 52nd minute on a Danielle Janules goal and it remained a 3-1 game until Cash scored again in the 79th minute, this time with an assist from Amber Preusser.
Diaz had to leave the game early in the second half after getting kicked in the ankle. She may sit out the team”s next game in Lower Lake on Thursday.
Kiley Agapoff”s play in the midfield stood out for the Mustangs, according to Owens.
“Agapoff has been playing so well,” Owens said. “She was hustling and she controlled the game in the middle for us.”
Owens said she also was impressed with the play of Kelseyville forward Monique Santana, who assisted on the Knights” lone goal.
“She”s a dangerous player and you don”t want to give her too much room,” Owens said.
Shana Cossey and Myra Macias took turns at keeper for the Knights and both played well, according to Andre.
In other girls” soccer action Tuesday:
Clear Lake 4, Upper Lake 0
At Upper Lake, Clear Lake registered its first NCL I South win by shutting out the Upper Lake Cougars.
Clear Lake (1-1-1, 6-7-2) led 3-0 after the first half. Upper Lake (0-2, 6-4) had 18 shots on goal but couldn”t get the ball past Cardinal keeper Mari Jordan.
“She grabbed one that was just incredible,” Upper Lake coach Mike Sheets said of Jordan”s knack for locating the ball. “She had a couple of really, really beautiful saves.”
Annie Martinez had 10 saves for Upper Lake.
“It could have been worse than it was,” Sheets said. “I thought we do a pretty good job on defense.”
Elena Tipton scored all four of the Cardinals” goals despite taking only six shots.
“Our defense played extremely well today,” Clear Lake coach Paul Larrea said. “Most of them played all 80 minutes.”
Marking back Jessica Rentsch held Upper Lake”s top scorer, Yessica Ayala, in check most of the game, according to Larrea.
“She did a nice job on her,” Larrea said.
Boys” soccer
Clear Lake 10, Upper Lake 2
At Upper Lake, Ivan Sanchez contributed five goals and an assist to Clear Lake”s NCL I South victory over the Upper Lake Cougars.
Jose Nunez and Raymundo Gregorio added two goals apiece as Clear Lake (1-1-1, 2-4-1) won its first South match.
“A lot of smiles today,” Clear Lake coach Chris Cortez said. “I was thrilled. Everybody got to play a lot. I sat the starters the majority of the second half.”
Clear Lake led 4-0 after one half and led 5-0 before Upper Lake”s Angel Hernandez scored.
Sanchez then sandwiched a pair of goals around a goal by Upper Lake”s Aaron Burns to make it a 7-2 game.
Kelseyville 2, Middletown 1
At Middletown, Oscar Martinez scored both of his goals in the second half and the Kelseyville Knights won a defensive struggle with the Middletown Mustangs in NCL I North play.
After a scoreless first half, Kelseyville grabbed a 2-0 lead on the strength of Martinez”s two goals. The score remained unchanged until Middletown”s Myles Moffat scored in the final minute of play.
“I was surprised,” Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma said of the closeness of the game. “But they played well and so did we.”
Kelseyville defenders Tony Castellanos, Osvaldo Rojas and Oscar Lopez turned in strong performances, according to Ledesma.
“More frustration for us,” Middletown coach Jivan Dicovski said. “We made some stupid mistakes on defense.”
Volleyball
St. Helena def. Middletown
At St. Helena, in their final tune-up before the start of NCL I North play on Thursday, the Middletown Mustangs ran into a St. Helena buzz saw on Tuesday, falling 25-14, 25-7, 25-19 in NCL I interlock action.
“They have some killer hitters, really aggressive,” Middletown coach Jennifer Breiner said of the Saints, the favorite to capture the NCL I South title this year.
Jenny McGee had four kills to lead the Mustangs. Kayla Rob-inson added three kills and one block.
Willits def. Kelseyville
At Kelseyville, Willits dropped the first two games but rallied to beat defending NCL I North champion Kelseyville 22-25, 14-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-7 in the league opener for both teams.
“I expected them to be a good team,” Kelseyville coach Donelle McCallister said. “I knew it would be tough.”
Kendra Schwegerl led Kelseyville with 17 kills and six aces. Skyler Olsen added 16 kills and five aces.
Two other Kelseyville standouts were Julie Van Buskirk and libero Sarah Johnson, according to McCallister.
Lower Lake def. Fort Bragg
At Fort Bragg, Tashee Denson powered Lower Lake with 11 kills and four blocks as the Trojans beat the Fort Bragg Timberwolves 25-16, 25-21, 25-13 in the NCL I North opener for both teams.
“She played really well,” Lower Lake coach Danessa Udy said of Denson. “All nine of my girls did extremely well.”
Veronica Wilder added five kills and two aces, Amber Daniels served up a team-best nine aces, and Sara Burns had four aces.
St. Vincent def. Upper Lake
At Petaluma, the Upper Lake Cougars sputtered in a 25-13, 25-12, 25-23 loss to the St. Vincent Mustangs in the NCL I South opener for both teams.
“We didn”t have a good night,” Upper Lake coach Sandy Coatney said. “We”re not a bad team, but we didn”t play well. We”ve definitely got to figure something out because this is not going to cut it.”
